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At Gaudreau Family 5K, memory of late brothers Johnny and Matthew shines bright: ‘The boys are here’

SEWELL, N.J. — In the hour before the Gaudreau Family 5K on Saturday morning, with the sidewalk still wet from a rainstorm the previous night, hundreds and hundreds of participants filed into Washington Lake Park and headed toward a clearing where the race was to begin. A rainbow in the sky greeted all of them. […]

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SEWELL, N.J. — In the hour before the Gaudreau Family 5K on Saturday morning, with the sidewalk still wet from a rainstorm the previous night, hundreds and hundreds of participants filed into Washington Lake Park and headed toward a clearing where the race was to begin.

A rainbow in the sky greeted all of them.

“The boys are here,” said Deb Vasaturo, one of the event organizers.

Nine months ago, mere days after John and Matthew Gaudreau were struck and killed by an SUV driver while riding bicycles together on Aug. 29, a group of close friends, including Vasaturo, had gathered at the family home in Penns Grove, N.J., hoping to offer support to the brothers’ parents, Jane and Guy. That day, a double rainbow had split through the sky — a tiny comfort in a period of unimaginable grief.

The 31-year-old John, better known as Johnny among fans, was playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets when he and 29-year-old Matthew died, and Zach Aston-Reese felt his presence throughout the NHL season. In February, on the first birthday of John’s oldest son, a beautiful sunset graced Columbus; late in the season, before a must-win road game for the Blue Jackets, a rainbow appeared above the Philadelphia Flyers’ arena. He was touched again when another rainbow emerged before the 5K, as throngs of runners and walkers gathered for the race.

“It’s almost a year since (the accident), but I think it’s something that can take a lifetime to heal from,” Aston-Reese said. “Any time you get a chance to support, especially the bigger events, it’s really special.”

Around 1,100 people signed up for either the competitive 5K, which kicked off at 8 a.m., or a more casual 8:45 a.m. race of the same distance. Kids had their chance to compete in a one-mile run later in the morning. Multiple race participants wore jerseys of John, a seven-time NHL All-Star nicknamed Johnny Hockey, who played for the Calgary Flames and Blue Jackets. Some also wore gear for Matthew, who reached the AHL after a four-year career at Boston College and most recently suited up with the ECHL’s Worcester Railers in 2021-22.

The park was alive with activity throughout the morning. One tent showcased signed jerseys up for a silent auction, as kids played lawn games nearby. Baskets sitting on the covered stage were raffled off. Below them, attendees wrote memories and messages of support for the Gaudreau family on a big white banner.

The event raised money for an adaptive playground at Archbishop Damiano, a special education school in Westville, N.J. The Gaudreau family has deep family connections with the school: Jane’s brother has special needs, and their mother worked there for more than 40 years. All four of the Gaudreau kids — Kristen, John, Matthew and Katie — have either volunteered for or worked at the school too.

“The playground has been a project for I think four or five years, and there just never was enough funding,” Vasaturo said. “(The 5K) was a perfect marriage of doing something good to honor the boys and seeing children laugh and smile.”


Fans sign a banner for the Gaudreau family. (Peter Baugh / For The Athletic)

Jane, Guy, Kristen and Katie were present throughout. Both boys loved children, Jane said, so seeing all the smiling kids would have been everything they would’ve wanted in the event. “I think they would just be so proud of us that we did (this),” she said.

Guy noted that Matthew would have run the 5K and won. He frequently beat John in off-ice exercises growing up, leaving his older brother “so mad he couldn’t see straight,” their dad said with fondness.

Professional hockey players went out of their way to attend as well. South Jersey natives Buddy Robinson, who played 62 NHL games and is now in the KHL, and Tony DeAngelo, who played with the New York Islanders this past season, were both there. Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, a teammate of John Gaudreau’s for the United States at the World Championships last summer, traveled from his offseason home on the Jersey Shore and wore a black sweatshirt that read “Johnny Hockey.” Aston-Reese and Erik Gudbranson represented the Blue Jackets.

“Our family wouldn’t have missed this,” said Gudbranson, who came with his wife and kids straight from a trip to Disney World. “There’s no way.”

In the aftermath of John and Matthew’s deaths, the Gaudreau family’s friends wanted to find ways to help. Vasaturo initially thought of the charity 5K. When she approached Guy and Jane in October, Jane thought it was a wonderful idea but felt the family didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to provide much help.

That wasn’t an issue. Their friends — a committee of around 18 people — took care of it all.

“They did everything, organized everything,” Guy said. “They just wanted us to be here.”

Community members beyond the committee, including Aston-Reese, helped too. The Blue Jackets forward studied graphic design while playing college hockey at Northeastern University, and one of Jane’s friends reached out and asked him to create the event logo. Honored, the Blue Jackets forward came up with a design — two interlocking hockey sticks with doves above them and the Gaudreau family name across the middle — that ultimately went on the race shirts and medals.

“It was pretty surreal pulling in and seeing everyone with their shirts on and the logo you created,” Aston-Reese said.


NHLers Brady Tkachuk (black hoodie, left) and Erik Gudbranson (white shirt, back) walk in the “Fun 5K run/walk.” (Peter Baugh / For The Athletic)

Along with the race in Sewell, more than 1,300 people signed up to compete in a virtual 5K, with participants across the U.S. and Canada, as well as in multiple other countries, including Ireland, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates. Florida Panthers players, who are preparing for the Stanley Cup Final, participated from Fort Lauderdale.

“Thursday, yesterday and even this morning I woke up, (and) I can’t clean out my inbox because I get all the notices of all the donations and all the registrations,” said Paul O’Connor, an organizing committee member whose son was a childhood friend of Matthew. “It just keeps growing.”

Jane Gaudreau said it was emotional pulling into the park and seeing how many people were there. She and Guy initially expected the 5K to draw maybe 100 or 200 people. To see it balloon into an event with more than 1,000 was “overwhelming, but in a good way,” she said.

After the races, the family stood on stage for an award ceremony. The public address announcer listed off the overall top finishers, then the winners of each age group. The NHL players on hand presented awards: In place of trophies, each person received a gift card and one of the hockey sticks left at public memorials after John and Matthew’s deaths.

“Just to be able to show support for this amazing family and see this amazing turnout, it was pretty great to be a part of,” said Tkachuk, who walked the more casual 5K. “I’m just so thankful they had me here.”


Guy Gaudreau runs the Gaudreau Family 5K. (Peter Baugh / For The Athletic)

Every finisher received a medal that read “1st annual 5K run/walk,” indicating Saturday wasn’t a one-off event, and indeed the current plan is to continue it in the future. Jane has seen messages asking if the family would host the race in Calgary or Columbus, which has given her ideas. She saw requests from Calgary first, so she said she’ll perhaps run next year as a virtual participant with people there.

But this year the Gaudreaus were home in New Jersey, only a five-minute drive from Hollydell Ice Arena, the rink where the boys spent countless hours as kids. Jane stood near the end of the course as the fastest runners wrapped up the competitive race. She clapped and whooped as they neared the finish line.

Guy, meanwhile, ran the race. He wore a bright orange long-sleeved shirt, and the crowd burst into applause when the public address announcer pointed him out as he came around the final turn. Vasaturo, the friend whose idea led to Saturday’s event, cheered and cheered from the stage.

“His strength and Jane’s strength and their resiliency is just amazing,” she said. “We just want to be there and help them along the way, take these steps with them.”

(Top photo of the Gaudreau family and NHL players: Gillian Kocher / Gaudreau Family 5K) 



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College Sports

College football media days begin amid NIL chaos and confusion

By the end of July, college football’s Power 4 conferences will all have held their media days. The Big 12 is up first, the SEC will hold theirs next week and the Big Ten and ACC will hold theirs the following week. If the same comments and stories come from the other media days like […]

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By the end of July, college football’s Power 4 conferences will all have held their media days. The Big 12 is up first, the SEC will hold theirs next week and the Big Ten and ACC will hold theirs the following week.

If the same comments and stories come from the other media days like what’s being said in Frisco, Texas this week (on top of the normal drama that comes from media days), we’re in for a fun month.

Well, that probably depends on your definition of fun. But either way, buckle up for a month of chaos.

After the first day of the Big 12’s two-day event, there have already been several stories with national interest and they’re related to the same topic: NIL.

Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger published a story Tuesday night with multiple quotes from people that makes it clear there is still a lot of chaos.

In the story, multiple coaches are quoted talking about the uncertainty of the current rules, including Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham.

“We don’t know the rules,” he said. “The settlement passed, but who knows what Deloitte is going to clear. Until there is clarity, you’re living in limbo.”

Dellenger also reports the NIL Clearinghouse run by Deloitte, roughly one third of the 1,200 submitted deals to the clearinghouse have been approved, 80 have been denied and the rest are still being reviewed. (The entire story is worth a read and isn’t behind a paywall.)

On3 Pete Nakos also has a similar story about the current Wild West of college sports and recruiting.

“With no oversight or cap on spending in recruiting, schools are offering more money than ever before. As two Power Four general managers previously speculated to On3, they believe the number of recruits receiving upfront payments sits between 50 to 100 prospects in the 2026 cycle. Recruiting staffers have said some top prospects are making anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000 monthly.”

Nakos added, “Aug. 1 marks the official offer date for when institutions can begin offering revenue-sharing contracts to recruits. But that has not stopped schools from making verbal offers or informally sending contract numbers.”

Basically, what the stories by Dellenger and Nakos prove is that while a lot has changed, nothing has truly changed.

Are we surprised schools are finding ways to circumvent caps? Front-loading deals so they don’t have to be cleared the NIL Clearinghouse? The clearinghouse being slow and bogged down by delays? Rich boosters finding ways to pay players?

Not one bit.

This type of thing, in one way or another, has been going for all of college football’s history and it likely will never go away.

Yes, I know, your favorite school is innocent and your rival is guilty as hell. Unless your favorite school is SMU, in which case, everyone is guilty.

The only thing that has really changed between the past and now is that now everything is a little more out in the open. A bunch of rules, caps, oversight and etc. will only send everything back into the dark.

So, yes, the Wild West is still here and the chaos will continue. And that’ll only make the next month of media days all the more entertaining.





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Kalthoff lands CSC First Team Academic All-America honors

Story Links 2025 CSC Academic All-America Men’s At-Large Teams St. Olaf’s All-Time CSC Academic All-Americans AUSTIN, Texas – Recent graduate Connor Kalthoff ’25 became the first member of the St. Olaf College men’s hockey program to be named a College […]

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AUSTIN, Texas – Recent graduate Connor Kalthoff ’25 became the first member of the St. Olaf College men’s hockey program to be named a College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-American ® by claiming first-team honors in the at-large category, as announced on Wednesday.

Kalthoff was one of 15 first-time selections out of the 46 student-athletes honored at the NCAA Division III level in the men’s at-large list, which includes the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. The Sartell, Minn. product was one of four hockey student-athletes on the three teams and was the lone Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) student-athlete on the men’s teams.

Wednesday’s announcement made Kalthoff the 16th St. Olaf student-athlete to earn CSC Academic All-America ® honors, with the 16 accounting for 22 accolades. He is the second Ole to be honored in 2024-25, joining men’s soccer standout Shea Bechtel ’25. Fourteen of St. Olaf’s 22 Academic All-Americans have come since the start of the 2019-20 academic year.

Kalthoff wrapped up his decorated career with a second consecutive CCM/American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) First Team West All-America accolade this winter and was a finalist for the Sid Watson Award, which is given to the best NCAA Division II-III men’s hockey player in the country. He was also named the MIAC Defensive Player of the Year and St. Olaf’s Male Athlete of the Year, in addition to earning a third All-MIAC accolade in a row.

Over his career, Kalthoff finished fifth in points (66) among blue-liners in recorded program history after compiling 18 goals and 48 assists in a program-record 112 games. He helped the Oles to 53 victories over his four-year career, as well as four MIAC Playoff berths, two MIAC Playoff championships, and two NCAA Tournament appearances. An economics major with a 3.91 grade-point average, Kalthoff was a three-time CSC Academic All-District ® honoree, a three-time Academic All-MIAC selection, and was named to the Dean’s List every semester.

 



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CSC Academic All-America Men’s At-Large – Stanford Cardinal

STANFORD, Calif. – Senior gymnast Mark Berlaga has been named the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Division I Men’s At-Large Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for the second consecutive season, as announced by CSC on Wednesday morning. Berlaga is joined by Ian Lasic-Ellis (men’s gymnastics), Riley Pittman (men’s water polo) and Jackson Painter (men’s […]

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STANFORD, Calif. – Senior gymnast Mark Berlaga has been named the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Division I Men’s At-Large Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for the second consecutive season, as announced by CSC on Wednesday morning. Berlaga is joined by Ian Lasic-Ellis (men’s gymnastics), Riley Pittman (men’s water polo) and Jackson Painter (men’s water polo) who also earned At-Large selections.

Berlaga becomes just the seventh student-athlete to become a multiple-time recipient of the award since its inception in 1988, joining former Stanford wrestler Nick Amuchastegui (2011–12) as the second Cardinal student-athlete to achieve the honor.

In addition to being named Team Member of the Year, Berlaga was selected as a CSC First Team Academic All-American, while teammate Ian Lasic-Ellis earned second team All-America honors.

Recently completing his Biology degree with a 4.059 GPA, Berlaga capped his collegiate career as a three-time NCAA team champion and three-time All-American on still rings. In April, he finished as the national runner-up on still rings for the second time in his career with a season-best 14.200 routine.

Now a two-time CSC At-Large First Team Academic All-American, Berlaga was recently named the recipient of the NCAA postgraduate scholarship to go along with two Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll selections and three MPSF All-Academic Team honors.

Lasic-Ellis, who boasts a 3.744 GPA with a Symbolic Systems degree, earned his first-career All-America honors at the NCAA Championships this April, finishing fifth on the high bar with a season-best 13.700 routine.

Earning his first Academic All-America honor, Lasic-Ellis is a two-time MPSF All-Academic Team honoree, a Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll selection, and a CGA All-America Scholar-Athlete

Pittman earned Second Team distinction, finishing his time on The Farm with a Computer Science degree behind a 3.72 GPA. In 2024, Pittman was named an ACWPC All-America First Team selection, after earning second team honors in 2023.

The Irvine, Calif. product is a three-time All-MPSF selection, and a four-time MPSF All-Academic honoree. Last season, Pittman finished with 97 points on a team-leading 44 assists as well as 53 goals scored.

Painter rounds out the group with an appearance on the Third Team, finishing a degree in Mechanical Engineering  with a 3.85 GPA. Painter entered the Cardinal record books in 2024, with his 187 career goals ranking 10th in program history.

Painter finishes his career as a two-time ACWPC All-American, and a three-time All-MPSF selection. The native of Orinda, Calif. is a four-time MPSF All-Academic selection as well.

 



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Academic All-America® Men’s At-large Team Features Four Jumbos

Story Links MEDFORD, MA (July 9, 2025) – Tufts University’s Michael Ayers, Parker Merril, Charlie Tagliaferri and Joey Waldbaum have been selected to the 2024-25 Academic All-America® men’s at-large team announced today by College Sports Communicators. Tagliaferri and Waldbaum are on the first team, Ayers is on the second team and […]

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MEDFORD, MA (July 9, 2025) – Tufts University’s Michael Ayers, Parker Merril, Charlie Tagliaferri and Joey Waldbaum have been selected to the 2024-25 Academic All-America® men’s at-large team announced today by College Sports Communicators. Tagliaferri and Waldbaum are on the first team, Ayers is on the second team and Merril received a third-team award.

Tufts’ four Academic All-America® men’s at-large selections are tied for the second most in the nation for Division III. The amount is twice as many as all other NESCAC schools combined (2). 

This honor recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined athletic and academic achievements. To be nominated, student-athletes must be a significant contributor to the team with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) at his current institution. A limit of six nominations per school is set. For lacrosse players, nominees must have competed in 90 percent of the team’s total games played or have started 66 percent of the team’s total games.

For the Academic All-District® Men’s At-Large Teams, student-athletes from the following sports are eligible –  Men’s Fencing, Men’s Golf, Men’s Gymnastics, Men’s Ice Hockey, Men’s Lacrosse, Men’s Rifle, Men’s Skiing, Men’s Volleyball, Men’s Water Polo and Men’s Wrestling.

Ayers on defense, Merril on face-offs, Tagliaferri at midfield and Waldbaum on defense were key contributors to the Tufts men’s lacrosse team that won its second straight NCAA Championship in the spring. Head coach Casey D’Annolfo’s Jumbos finished undefeated at 23-0. All four players were USILA All-Americans with Tagliaferri and Waldbaum on the first team, Ayers a second-teamer and Merril on the third team. All four were also 2025 Tufts University graduates with honors – Ayers in Economics (3.69 GPA), Merril in Biopsychology (3.76), Tagliaferri in Economics (3.72) and Waldbaum in Biology (3.91). 

Waldbaum made the Academic All-America® men’s at-large first team for the second straight year. Tagliaferri is also recognized for the second straight year including a third-team selection for 2024.

With these four honorees, Tufts University Athletics now has 13 Academic All-America® recipients for the 2024-25 academic year thus far. That’s the most ever for a single year at Tufts.

See the full 2024-25 Academic All-America® Men’s At-large Teams HERE.

 

–JUMBOS–



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Texas Tech has a Championship blue print

In the new era of player compensation in college athletics, Texas Tech football is looking to cash in and win its first conference championship since 1994, when it was a member of the now-defunct Southwest Conference. “You have NIL as we know it, and then you have what is going to happen in revenue share. […]

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In the new era of player compensation in college athletics, Texas Tech football is looking to cash in and win its first conference championship since 1994, when it was a member of the now-defunct Southwest Conference.

“You have NIL as we know it, and then you have what is going to happen in revenue share. And we have an opportunity to take advantage of both of those,” Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire told Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II and Rob Stone on “The Triple Option”. “Those guys (athletics donors) said, ‘OK, hey, look, you get a guy on campus and he is your guy, like Mr. Joyner, our running back, don’t let him leave. Don’t let him leave,’” he continued.

Texas Tech’s boosters are led by former offensive lineman and current billionaire Cody Campbell, whose support McGuire is looking to maximize. The coach said he is working with a company to assign value to prospects, something that would have been unheard of just five years ago.

“A college running back, a guy that has played college football, his NIL value is X, and he is going to increase the percentage of your team winning by Y,” McGuire explained. “Then we have another group that grades college players one through 10, with 10 being the highest NFL ranking down to one. And so we take those two, and that’s really how we got really aggressive in the portal.”

In addition to leveraging NIL dollars to be aggressive in the transfer portal, Texas Tech has made significant physical investments.

“We have a $250 million football facility that is as good as anywhere in the country,” McGuire said.

Money for players and facilities is now in place, so what’s the only thing working against the Red Raiders?

“They haven’t ever won the conference or, you know, they can’t get in the playoffs,” McGuire said. “I want to check that off because I want to win it. I want to be in the playoffs, and I want to create and sustain a winning program at a whole different level.”

The Big 12 is wide open this season, with many placing the Red Raiders as the preseason favorite.

New episodes of “The Triple Option” drop every Wednesday. Watch on YouTube, or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Follow us @3XOptionShow on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook for bonus content.





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Kameron Nelson Named CSC Academic All-America

COLUMBUS, Ohio – College Sports Communicators announced on Wednesday its list of Academic All-America honorees in the at-large category. Kameron Nelson was named to the CSC Academic All-America Second Team after graduating this May with a degree in communications. He’s previously been honored for his studies as a 2025 CSC Academic All-District selection, five-time OSU […]

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – College Sports Communicators announced on Wednesday its list of Academic All-America honorees in the at-large category. Kameron Nelson was named to the CSC Academic All-America Second Team after graduating this May with a degree in communications. He’s previously been honored for his studies as a 2025 CSC Academic All-District selection, five-time OSU Scholar Athlete, four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a 2021 CGA Scholar All-American First Team selection.  
 
Nelson capped his collegiate career in April by winning the NCAA vault title and earning NCAA All-American status on both vault and floor (third). In January, he made history as the first gymnast in the world to compete two triple backs in a single floor routine. Nelson was a Nissen Emery Award finalist this season and was also a regular season CGA All-American on both floor and vault. He has qualified to compete at the USA Championships next month as an event specialist on floor, rings, vault and high bar.
 
Nelson is a six-time NCAA All-American and three-time CGA regular season All-American. He owns a pair of Big Ten vault titles (2025 and 2022), landing on the All-Big Ten First Time those two years and on the All-Big Ten Second Team in 2023 and 2024. Nelson is a three-time Big Ten Gymnast to Watch and has earned weekly honors from the Big Ten, CGA and Inside Gym. In 2023, Nelson represented Team USA at the Cairo World Cup, qualifying for the finals on both floor and vault.
 

#GoBucks



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